Well-designed water ski bindings should not only fit well, but also properly support the skier's foot and ankle. Proper support is a function of good fit and offers the skier maximum control over the ski, while placing a minimum of stress on the skier's foot and ankle. A good binding fit also enhances the skier's safety in that with greater control over the ski, the skier is less likely to sustain an injurious fall. In addition to proper support and good fit, it is desirable to provide a binding upper that is comfortable to the skier. Also, because of the strains exerted on the binding when skiing, it is necessary that the binding be of rugged construction.
To provide proper support, known bindings for water skis typically include a binding upper consisting of a toe- or forward piece that extends transversely over the forward portion of the foot and a heel- or rearward piece to cup the heel and ankle of the skier. The lower perimeter flange portions of the toe piece and heel piece extend horizontally from their respective upper portions for securement horizontally to a mounting surface provided on the ski. Examples of this type of water ski binding are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,121,891 and 4,522,603. While such configurations generally provide enough lateral binding support to allow the skier to control the ski for precision turns, they do so at the expense of binding comfort. In such configurations, the lower perimeter flange portion of the toe- and heelpieces are generally horizontally clamped to the ski, while the majority of the upper portions of the toe- and heelpieces have a more vertical disposition capable of supporting the foot and ankle. Generally, this is achieved by a transitional portion of the binding that undergoes an arcuate, 90 degree upward bend from the flange to the upper portions of the toe- and heelpiece. The resultant inwardly concave portion of the binding upper is relatively stiff and unyielding, thereby resisting outward flexure. Thus, while the skier's foot is laterally supported, the comfort of the binding is significantly impaired.
Water ski bindings also have been designed to provide a direct vertical attachment between the binding upper and the soleplate of the binding. This configuration eliminates the relatively stiff arcuate juncture between the horizontal flange portions and vertical upper portions of previous water ski bindings, resulting in a binding that is more uniformly flexible throughout. An example of this type of binding is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,200. While this configuration may enhance the comfort of the water ski binding, it provides minimal lateral support to the skier's foot, thereby severely reducing the skier's control over the ski and seriously decreasing skier safety.
Perhaps the surest way of obtaining a properly fitting binding is to have one custom designed and made for an individual. However, such bindings are both expensive and limited to usage by one individual. Therefore, it is desirable that water ski bindings are constructed to accommodate a variety of skier foot sizes. In this regard the length of the water ski binding is commonly adjustable by use of a longitudinally slidable heelpiece. Use of a sliding heelpiece in conjunction with a forwardly narrowing open toepiece also provides some adjustment for width. Wider feet are simply retained farther back in the binding toepiece, with the heelpiece adjusted accordingly, while narrower feet are positioned farther forward in the binding toepiece. An example of a water ski binding constructed in this manner is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,158. These adjustable bindings, however, employ a spacing in the binding upper between the toepiece and the heelpiece to allow relative displacement of the two. Because major portions of the skier's foot and ankle are left uncovered by the binding in this configuration, less than optimum support or comfort results.
Other adjustable binding designs employ binding pieces that are movable in relation to a mounting plate by way of bolts that reside in slots located in either the binding pieces or the mounting plate. Such an arrangement can be used to adjust the length of the binding, or the binding width at the toe or heel. Examples of water ski bindings constructed in this manner are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,142,727 and 2,165,547. These designs also leave reduced regions of the skier's foot covered by the binding, thereby providing variably adjustable bindings at the expense of foot and ankle support and comfort.
Some water ski bindings also include a means for adjusting the binding fit by varying the instep of the binding. For example, the toepiece may be laced as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,165,547. Similarly, the toepiece may be stretched downwardly and rearwardly to reduce the size of the binding cavity adjacent the skier's instep, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,143,750. Another possible option is to adjust the effective surface area of the toepiece while maintaining the same points of attachment on the soleplate. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,741, one side of the toepiece can be secured by an eccentric clasp, allowing that end of the toepiece to be clamped at different points, thereby adjusting the binding toepiece to accommodate different skier's feet.
While each of these different binding configurations is capable of varying the instep region of the binding, none provides maximum coverage of, and hence support to, the skier's foot and ankle. In addition, because the toepiece is generally angled forwardly downward, the reduction in the binding instep produces a rearward component of force on the skier's foot which must be resisted entirely by the heelpiece. None of these configurations discloses an integral means for counterbalancing this rearward force on the skier's foot.
Because the toe and heelpieces typically are subject to considerable flexure during usage, the durability of the binding often suffers. Similarly, the binding may employ a number of moving parts that can wear and, ultimately, fail. In addition, holes are frequently formed in the lower perimeter portion of the binding upper, which is clamped to the mounting surface of the ski by a frame provided with bolts that pass through the holes, anchoring the binding. The force exerted by the binding upper to hold the skier's foot in place is also experienced by the lower perimeter flange portion of the binding, resulting in frequent failures around the screw holes. To counteract these problems, stiffer, tougher binding upper material can be used. As noted earlier, however, this results in a decrease in the comfort experienced by the skier when wearing the binding. In addition, ribbed interfaces between the lower perimeter flange portion of the binding upper and the frame have been employed, as have lower perimeter portions that are harder and less resilient than the remainder of the binding upper. While each of these approaches reduces the tendency of the binding to tear when holes are provided, neither has proved totally successful.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a water ski binding that laterally supports the skier's foot and ankle and provides an adjustable fit, while maintaining a generally resilient binding upper that is both comfortable to wear and of rugged construction.
A particular object of the present invention is to provide a frame assembly for the binding that forms a laterally supportive depression for the skier's foot and secures the binding upper to extend upwardly and inwardly therefrom, thereby producing a comfortable laterally flexible binding that also offers the skier maximum control over the ski.
A further particular object of the present invention is to provide a frame assembly for the binding that is variable in width for preferred use in conjunction with a binding upper having an adjustable instep, the resultant adjustable binding producing the optimum fit to the feet of a large number of skiers while providing maximum support of the skiers' feet and ankles.